With two outs in the top of the third inning, Jaimie Hoover was up to bat.
The freshman from Suwanee, Georgia, faced a bases-loaded situation and was looking to extend her team's lead.
She was up against South Carolina pitcher Nickie Blue, who had already struck her out in the second inning. And in her last eight games, Hoover had just two hits.
But Sunday’s at-bat was different.
Hoover blasted a ball down the first-base line to send home Alex Voss, Amanda Lorenz and Nicole Dewitt for an RBI triple.
In an overwhelmingly offensive game in which eight Gators batted at least three times, Florida (26-1, 5-0 SEC) completed the sweep over South Carolina, winning 10-0 in five innings in Columbia on Sunday.
The scoring for Florida didn’t begin until the third inning, catalyzed with a single up the middle by junior Aleshia Ocasio. Two batters later, redshirt freshman Sophia Reynoso hit a homer to left field to push the Gators ahead 2-0.
It was Reynoso’s second home run of the season and her first since Feb. 12. She ended Sunday’s game with two hits and two RBIs.
Then, after Blue walked DeWitt, Kayli Kvistad and senior Janell Wheaton, Hoover converted the triple to push the lead to 5-0.
Hoover had two hits and a career-high five RBIs on the day.
Later on, following an Aleshia Ocasio pop up, Florida began the fourth inning with three straight singles from senior Justine McLean, Reynoso and DeWitt.
Two batters later, Kvistad drew a walk to bring home the second run of the inning.
Kvistad, who drew a walk earlier in the game, has now reached based in 27 straight games.
The Gators continued their scoring run with a two-RBI single by Hoover to balloon the score to 9-0.
The final run of the game was scored in the fifth and final inning off of a sacrifice fly from DeWitt, her fifth of the season.
Florida had eight hits on the day but also produced nine walks, a sign that the team knows when it shouldn’t swing.
The win also demonstrated lights-out pitching from both Ocasio and senior Delanie Gourley. The two recorded the fifth combined no-hitter in UF softball history in the shutout.
Gourley and Ocasio were the first to do so for the Gators since Stephanie Brombacher and Erin Schuppert did in 2010.
Four straight Gamecocks were retired before Gourley hit Tiara Duffy with a pitch. She immediately responded by tossing two strikeouts.
Gourley struck out four on the day.
Now, Florida will head home and have two days of rest before it faces USF Wednesday night at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.
Contact Cassie Amundson at camundson@alligator.org or follow her on Twitter @camundson_.
TAMPA, FL - FEBRUARY 11: Jaimie Hoover bats during an NCAA Softball game between the St. John's Red Storm and Florida Gators on February 11, 2017, at the USF Softball Stadium in Tampa, FL. (Photo by Mark LoMoglio)
